Friday, August 01, 2014

“I wasn’t willing to do it. That’s just the way it is. We’ve put too much into this. Our fans have suffered too much for 10 years (for us) to try to get to a point where we’re competitive. We are now, and we’re going to get better.

“This group of kids will get better. We’re not finished. We’ve got Paxton coming back. We’ve got Taijuan eventually. We have a lot of nice pieces. It isn’t just a couple. I think that’s very important.”

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Getting rid of Stephen Drew at this point is a net plus for the Red Sox. And I say this as a Red Sox fan who hates the Yankees. Seriously. Put Xander back at SS; put Middlebrooks at 3B for the rest of the year to see what we have. The Yankees are willing to take Drew's salary, which is great. Just get rid of Drew. I don't care if he hits .500 for his new team. He has nothing to do with next year's Red Sox roster, and Boston needs to spend the rest of this year preparing for 2015.

I can't believe, by the way, that the Rays traded Price without getting Walker back from Seattle. I think Seattle actually did a nice job in that three-way trade.

The other four chances after his two whole months of glory in 2012 weren't enough?

Don't get me wrong - I am not a Middlebrooks fan, and I share your view that we have probably seen enough to know that he can't make enough contact to hit in the big leagues. But I'd rather stick him there for two months straight to let management figure that out to their own satisfaction in 2014, if it means we can go into the off-season with clarity on where the team stands in terms of 3B...if Cecchini was ready, I'd put him there for the rest of the season, but he has struggled in his first shot at AAA...

But I'd rather stick him there for two months straight to let management figure that out to their own satisfaction in 2014, if it means we can go into the off-season with clarity on where the team stands in terms of 3B...if Cecchini was ready, I'd put him there for the rest of the season, but he has struggled in his first shot at AAA...

They don't even have to give him every start. It doesn't hurt for Holt to get practice there, and Cecchini could get some starts after rosters expand.

That's mostly because he homered in back to back games a couple of weeks ago. In his last seven games, Drew is back to hitting .167/.259/.250.

Live by the small sample size, die by the small sample size.

Good point. But my theory about him needing time to warm up is boosted by his .827 OPS in last years second half. I think he'll give the Yanks at least .750 OPS over two months.

And re: WMB, maybe he can also put together 2 solid months to boost his trade value.

Sorry to turn this into a Red Sox thread. I just saw a contrast between what Jack said, and the Red Sox's continuing to shed major league talent for nearly nothing (Youkilis, Doubront, Scutaro, Drew). Hell, Beane probably has a tent erected outside of Cherington's office door. I mean that literally and metaphorically.

Walt Davis. Sure, it was a fine, not exceptional, trade. But on the Jack Z scale, it rates an A+.

(It was impressive that he didn't give up pieces of the future for this longshot year. It was impressive that he was still able to extract value from Franklin after last offseason and this first half. It was impressive that he got what the M's need--a good centerfielder--rather than one of his favorite shiny pieces--a slowfooted slugger who doesn't walk, make good contact, or own a glove.